Residents and businesses in areas severely affected by the massive explosion at Beirut port on August 4 are still waiting for aid, even after some made basic repairs to their apartments and shops.

Lebanon on Thursday unveiled a compensation programme for almost 61,000 homes and over 19,000 businesses devastated by the blast.

President Michel Aoun signed a decree to open an exceptional appropriation in the general budget for 2020, amounting to 100 billion Lebanese pounds ($13 million on the black market), to compensate those affected.

A source at the High Relief Committee told Arabian Business: "The presidential initiative, despite its modesty, comes to meet some of the basic needs of those affected by the explosion, especially since the winter and rain are approaching", adding: "The necessary aid from donors or insurance companies is being delayed due to routine verification mechanisms, and people cannot wait."

Fifty-two days after the blast, tens of thousands in Gemmayzeh, Mar Mikhael, Mdawar and Karantina, the most affected by the blast, still live among the debris of stones and glass, in apartments without windows or roofs, some without power or water supply.

Rabih Chamoun, 50, owner of a grocery in Gemmayzeh, who previously estimated his losses at $5,000, told Arabian Business: "We do not yet know the mechanism by which aid will be distributed, but despite the modesty of the amount allocated, it remains better than nothing. We have a proverb saying that Xerocollyrium is better than blindness. and we know the state of the empty treasury."

On August 9, the international community pledged around $300 million in emergency aid at a conference jointly organised by France and the United Nations.

Camille Sayegh, 40, owner of an electronic gadgets store, said: "We welcome this initiative, even though we know that the sum we will receive will not amount to more than 1 percent of the loss we have incurred. Until now, no one has contacted us to compensate us, although many organisations have written reports of damages, but we have not received any amount so far."

Patrick Saade, 35, father of three children, who has repaired the doors and windows of his apartment in Gemmayzeh, said: "We have received assistance from NGOs to repair the doors and windows, but we need thousands of US dollars to complete the repairs. The presidential initiative is not enough, but it is added to other initiatives pending the arrival of basic aid so that we can repair our apartment and resettle again."

Hanna, 45, reopened his little grocery in Gemmayzeh, severely damaged, saying: "We don’t need this assistance, we aren’t beggars, we need real compensation from those who, by negligence, caused the destruction of our shops and our homes. I will not refuse aid from the army, even if it is $100, but we want real compensation."

The $13 million compensation program represents only 0.002 percent of the estimated $5 billion in material damage.

According to the latest estimates by the World Bank, the overall damage caused by the explosion is in the range of $3.8-4.6 billion, while the economic losses are estimated to be between $2.9-3.5 billion.

A recent study by Strategy& projected that the economic damage caused by the Beirut Port explosion is likely to exceed $20 billion. Medawar, Rmeil, Saifi and Marfaa districts are most in need of urgent assistance, according to Strategy&. Rmeil alone suffered $489 million in property damage, including 14,000 impacted households and 1,100 buildings.